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Amplier recording 101 question

Hi. I have a question I’m pretty sure I know the answer to but I do t really know the “why”. So why can’t I take an amp head, like the Orange Micro Terror 20watt, and go direct line from the “speaker out” and plug that into the line-in of a digital multitrack recorder, to record my guitar through that amp? Or can I do that and get ok results?

Re: Amplier recording 101 question

you can use a line out but not a speaker out and even the direct out wont sound "right" the speaker is a big part of the sound of an electric guitar so most people use a speaker simulator of one kind or another

Re: Amplier recording 101 question

Originally Posted by jeremy

you can use a line out but not a speaker out and even the direct out wont sound "right" the speaker is a big part of the sound of an electric guitar so most people use a speaker simulator of one kind or another

Thanks. Are there any inexpensive speaker sims to put between an amp speaker out and a daw recorder, that you know of

Re: Amplier recording 101 question

Good stereo or high fi speakers will reproduce sound in a very neutral and flat way from 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz. Guitar speakers are anything but flat. They're usually extremely hyped in the mid range with little to no bass and high frequencies. Try plugging your guitar into the line in on a hi-fi system and you'll see what it sounds like when you record direct in . . . it's a weird sound that your ears are not used to. The amp speaker radically reshapes the sound of the amp, and we're very used to hearing it.

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Re: Amplier recording 101 question

Ok thanks for all your replies. I really didn’t know I should completely avoid using the speaker out as line out. Or not to run an amp head with out speaker or something connected.

So are amps with “emulated speaker out” through the headphone jacks any different than any amp that has a “headphone out” jack? Or does an emulated headphone out have something more to it? Would the “speaker out” to a Red Box type amp simulator give me better sound than “headphone out”?

Re: Amplier recording 101 question

Ok thanks for all your replies. I really didn’t know I should completely avoid using the speaker out as line out. Or not to run an amp head with out speaker or something connected.

So are amps with “emulated speaker out” through the headphone jacks any different than any amp that has a “headphone out” jack? Or does an emulated headphone out have something more to it? Would the “speaker out” to a Red Box type amp simulator give me better sound than “headphone out”?

The Headphone jack is good to use -it's usually right before the power output section -not sure on the Terror where it is -An emulated speaker output is a line level pick off of the power output section -safe for recording and sounds like the entire amp -cool to have but getting a recording from the Headphone out will sound great -it's the preamp section.
Also -let me be very clear -IF YOU HAVE A HEADPHONE OUTPUT CONNECTED -YOU DO NOT NEED A SPEAKER CAB ATTACHED TO THE SPEAKER OUTPUT -engaging the headphone out bypasses the input to the output transformer -I read the manual for you.

but the moment you pull a cable out of the headphone output -if the amp is on you MUST have a load (Speaker cabinet attached)

Re: Amplier recording 101 question

There are a lot of pedals and load boxes these days as direct recording has become super popular. I do direct recording with my Fractal (digital out) as I don't have the space for a traditional speaker/microphone setup here.

Re: Amplier recording 101 question

Ok thanks for the info. I don’t have a micro terror, it was just an example I was considering. So to use the “speaker out” I would need a amp simulator AND something for the load, if I didn’t have a speaker cab attached. BUT I don’t need to do that because the “headphone out” will give decent results for line out recording. (Just don’t unplug the headphone out without speaker attached. That’s what I think your consensus is

Re: Amplier recording 101 question

Originally Posted by Martyb

Ok thanks for the info. I don’t have a micro terror, it was just an example I was considering. So to use the “speaker out” I would need a amp simulator AND something for the load, if I didn’t have a speaker cab attached. BUT I don’t need to do that because the “headphone out” will give decent results for line out recording. (Just don’t unplug the headphone out without speaker attached. That’s what I think your consensus is

Well, you can use headphone and line outs for recording, but how "decent" that sounds entirely depends on the amp and listener.

I wonder why does Micro Terror needs cab connected . But I guess you should do that when the manual says so.

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